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Lakers' LeBron James Receives Disappointing Injury Update For Wolves Game

Matt Levine

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When the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, they will likely do so without star LeBron James's services. James has been dealing with foot soreness and could miss another game due to injury.

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported the news on social media.

James missed the Lakers last game against the Portland Trail Blazers and there was thought for him to return against the Timberwolves. But the Lakers seem like they will be giving him more time to rest his foot as it has been nagging him for a while now.

The team has been trying to manage his workload throughout the long season as the veteran is about to turn 40 years old. Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke about this earlier in the week and emphasized more rest going forward.

"In game, he's asked for a sub a couple times because he's gassed," Redick said Wednesday. "For us, we have to be cognizant as we play more and more games, just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes and Sunday, being banged up with the foot thing, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest."

After the game with the Timberwolves, the Lakers will return home to face the Memphis Grizzlies. If James returns for that game, his missed time would allow him to have had eight days off.

For the season, James has been averaging 23 points on 49.5% shooting, 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds. The King has also shot 35.9 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

The Lakers are hopeful that this extra rest will help James and he can return to the court soon. Los Angeles is taking advantage of the NBA Cup schedule since they didn't advance, with the team only having two games between Dec. 9-18.

James had previously wanted to play in all 82 games this season but that quickly went down the drain. Los Angeles needs him to be at his best toward the end of the season so making sure he can get there injury-free will be the key.

The veteran is likely to receive more days off throughout the remainder of the year as the team manages his minutes going forward.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

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